Neverwinter Bestiary - Green Dragons

The Forgotten Realms is home to some fearsome creatures, all waiting to make a meal out of the novice adventurer who gets careless. Lumis Brightpath, a veteran Hunter Ranger who has taken down creatures all across Faerûn, has been kind enough to share some of her insights with us.

“I’ve hunted some big game and seen some strange things in my travels around Faerûn. I suppose it’s the duty of people like me who have been lucky and knowledgeable enough not to get themselves killed to try and ensure the same future for adventurers like you. With all the dragons running amok along the Sword Coast, I suppose that’s as good a place as any to start.

Let me tell you about green dragons…

As dangerous as they are duplicitous, green dragons are among the most reviled of the chromatic dragons. Delighting in trickery and deceit, green dragons enjoy bringing harm to others through complex conspiracies and mind games. This is one of the reasons why they tend to prefer sentient, intelligent adversaries over mindless prey and it would seem that they are not deterred by the extra work involved. When it comes to green dragons and creatures they deem “lesser beings”, the distinction is either prey or pawn.

Out of all the chromatic dragons I’ve encountered during my travels, it has been the green dragons that have been most likely to meddle in the social and economic affairs of the surrounding areas. While keen to use intimidation or bribery to further their efforts, there have been whispers of green dragons coexisting with surrounding societies, provided their territory and plans remain undisturbed. It should be said, however, they are by no means above using physical violence to further their goals.

Green dragons favor areas of dense vegetation. Their legs are uniquely suited to moving through thick underbrush and their long necks afford them the ability to discreetly peer over treetops with little effort. Preferring to make their lairs in caves masked by the surrounding flora, green dragons cherish their privacy so that they can carry out their nefarious dealings with minimal interruption. While these forests do an excellent job of keeping intruders out, they also serve the dragons by keeping prey in. These mazelike forests and rough terrain ensure that a green dragon’s prey will have a hard time escaping the dragon’s domain with their lives. All too often, I’ve come across the remains of adventurers who have fallen prey to the green dragon’s breath weapon, a cone of poisonous gas, while hopelessly tangled in masses of vines and tree roots.

The two notable green dragons along the Sword Coast are Chartilifax the Mad and Charthraxis. The former has allied himself with the devils of Helm’s Hold, while the latter has chosen to aid the Cult of the Dragon in their shadowy dealings. Both rely greatly on the lingering noxious fumes of their breath weapons to maneuver their foes around the battlefield. This tactic allows their enemies to trap themselves between poisonous clouds, cursing their lack of foresight as they struggle to gasp what will likely be their last few breaths.

While green dragons make up some of the most cunning and deceitful predators in the Forgotten Realms, they are not the only beasts that haunt the nightmares of people everywhere. Green dragons may be masters of subtlety and deceit, but black dragons are unparalleled in their cruelty…”

- Lumis Brightpath

For a more detailed analysis of the black dragons of the Forgotten Realms from Lumis Brightpath, check back next week!